Abstract
A tsunami of demographic and economic forces has redefined the demand for rental housing in New Jersey. A rental focus has now supplanted the long-standing homeownership frenzy that finally expired with the bursting of the home-price bubble and the global credit crisis. In order to gain perspective on this recent transformation of the state’s housing market, it is useful to examine the long-term history of rental housing in New Jersey. That is the purpose of this report. The first three sections briefly set the current demographic and economic stage. Section 1 reviews the fundamental demographic influences on the demand for rental housing that have deeply affected the industry. Section 2 discusses the interface between these demographic factors, their effect on household income, and hence the demand for rental housing. Section 3 reviews the profound impact of new macroeconomic conditions on housing markets in general and the implications for rental housing. With this background, section 4 provides both an overview of the history of rental housing in New Jersey and a detailed description of the phases of its evolution. Section 5 provides a concluding discussion on the outlook for rental housing.